Birthday Gift
by marfiola
Summary: Monroe didn't celebrate his birthday. But things changed after he met Grimm.
1. First gift

Title: Birthday Gift  
>Fandom: Grimm (TV)<br>Genre: comedy  
>Length: ~400<br>Summary: Monroe doesn't celebrate his birthday. But things changed after he met Grimm.

* * *

><p>Monroe really hated this month. It was not because of the weather. He hated it because of that one horrible day. His birthday.<p>

Last time he celebrated his birthday was years ago. Probably around the time when he stayed close to Angelina and her brothers. He was young, free and he thought he's indestructible. That was the reason he done things he nowadays tries to forget. Just like he also tries to forget about his birthdays also. Each and every year.

Unfortunately meeting Grimm changed his life. Everything he wanted to escape from, came back with a vengeance. Everything he tried to forget, was reminded him whenever he met with Nick Burkhardt. His life became worse. Much worse.

When Monroe came back home from the shop, he spotted a small package on his doormat. The man would have been curious about the inside of said package, but the big, golden ribbon revealed the mystery . A birthday gift. Monroe considered throwing the present to the bin for a while. He didn't celebrate birthday. He lived by the idea that receiving a gift meant he should reciprocate the gesture at the earliest opportunity. In spite of all, he took the gift and went inside. 'Maybe there's something useful' he said to himself.

Monroe put his groceries on the table, and undressed himself. He sat down in front of the small package with an awful, golden ribbon. The longer he stared at it, the longer the package stared back at him. He could almost hear the gift screaming 'Happy Birthday!', 'I hate you!' and 'You're old!' alternately. He knew, he was making a grave mistake by taking the gift, but it was too late for any regrets. All he needed to do, was to open the gift.

From the little package, he took out a t-shirt with a clear and visible question "Who let the wolf out?".

Holding the t-shirt in his hands he realized who could leave a gift like that in front of his house. Grimm. Definitely Grimm.

"Oh I'll treat myself a gift. One dead Grimm should be enough." he muttered under his breath.

T.B.C

A/N: make it more like a slash or just a sappy/funny story?


	2. Second gift

Title: Birthday Gift  
>Fandom: Grimm (TV)<br>Genre: comedy  
>Length: ~300<br>Summary: Monroe receives another gift.

* * *

><p>It was a late evening when Monroe finished his job. A loud knock on the door scared him for a moment. He thought it was Nick Burkhardt for a friendly visit, but fortunately it wasn't him. Being a Blutbad, one of the perks was an enhanced sense of smell, and he knew a smell of a Grimm too well to mistake him for anyone else. It turned out, that the person waiting on the other side of doors, was a mailman.<p>

Monroe looked at a letter he received for few minutes. On the yellowish envelope was no trace leading to the sender. And even thou he didn't know who send it, he knew that it will take a lot of beer for him, to open it. And he meant a lot of beer. People don't send unsigned yellow envelopes for no reason.

He sat down on his sofa with an unopened beer in one hand, and a mysterious, yellow envelope in other. He put the beer on the coffee table and with trembling hands he opened the envelope. He succeeded on the first try, without having to use scissors. Slowly and with caution, he pulled out a hideous, red card with a gigantic puppy head and words "I wooff you" printed on.

"That's...just...just sick." muttered Monroe. Considering the t-shirt with printed "Who let the wolf out?" a barely original and passable gift (mostly to wipe something from the table), this card could be described as a utterly useless and tasteless. Just like the sender.

"Why is it always me?" he asked, but no one answered this. He was all alone in the house, surrounded by silent clocks. Monroe wanted to throw the card away, but he spotted that something is inside it. He opened and saw the loose piece of paper fall on the floor. The piece of paper appeared to be maybe a page from a book. A very old one.


	3. Feeling lonely

Title: Birthday Gift  
>Fandom: Grimm (TV)<br>Genre: comedy  
>Length: ~300<br>Summary: Monroe realize something as he reads the story.

* * *

><p>Monroe slowly picked up the piece of paper. It looked like a page from some kind of an old fairy tail.<p>

_"The Wolf didn't expect anyone. Yet, he circled the room with anticipation, for this particular day was special. Unfortunately, the Wolf didn't have anyone to share his happiness with. He sadly remembered the times, when he shared this day with others similar to him. Forced smile brightened his face couldn't hide the lone tear running down on his cheek. The Wolf didn't realize that he doesn't have to spend this day alone, unaware of the fact he actually had friends. And true, that they weren't his old friends, but sometimes 'new' doesn't have to be 'bad'. The Wolf was so absorbed that he almost didn't hear a soft knocking at his door."_

The fact, that the short story could be about him, crossed his mind. Being a Weider-Blutbad meant that his old friends were a bad influence and he had to cut the ties with them. Monroe tried to control or tame the beast within and he knew, that meeting with Angelina and her brothers could have grave consequences. Yet, he missed them dearly. He missed also his family – they lived a few hundred miles and he couldn't afford to take few days of a vacation. He felt lonely, but wouldn't admit it to anyone. He was too proud for that.

He didn't realize the passing time. He spent few minutes, or it could be an hour actually, reading the old story. He tried reading it one more time, but few words were unreadable. Few lone tears found their way to the piece of paper successfully blurring the ink. Monroe was crying.

The Blutbad heard a soft knocking at the door. He placed the paper on the table and hesitantly made his way to meet the guest.

* * *

><p>AN: I decided (thanks for your comments - were helpful) to go with the sappy/fluff setting - we're heading to the FLUFF-village.  
>btw. any guesses who knocked?<p> 


	4. Unexpected guest

Title: Birthday Gift  
>Fandom: Grimm (TV)<br>Genre: comedy/fluffy  
>Length: ~300<br>Summary: An unexpected guest arrives at Monroe's door.

* * *

><p>Monroe could hardly recognize the scent of the sudden guest. He tried his hardest to recall the where did he last time sniffed it, but he failed. The scent he remembered was more natural, than the one he smelled at the moment.<p>

With a hint of doubt Monroe opened the door. He was surprised by the person standing in front of him. A young girl holding one, red rose. That didn't normally happen. After taking a closer look at her, he recognized the girl as Holly Clark. The same little, lost Holly that he and Nick found few months ago in the deep forest.

She looked different. Her haircut was noticeable shorter than few months ago. Well, she did live with her foster family now, and not alone in the forest for nine years. That's totally understandable, that a loving parent would take care of her. But she had the same pink hairpin he and Nick found in her forest hideout. On Holly's face Monroe found a very contagious smile. He couldn't help it, so he smiled back at her. She only deepened her smile.

It was when Holly slowly handed him the rose, Monroe realized how beautifully she was dressed. She wore a long, sky-blue dress, which in the lights from Monroe's porch seemed to sparkle like diamonds or a fairy dust. 'Enchanting' he thought. Monroe's ex girlfriend, Angelina, was a beautiful woman, however young girl had something inside her, which Angelina was lacking. Even though Holly lived and survived in the wild for most of her life, she was still innocent and graceful. His ex's on the other hand, was not. She was a true Blutbad - a savage.

When Monroe took the rose from her, Holly hesitantly grasped his hand.

"Come with me" Holly said shyly. "Please?" she added politely. And Monroe knew he lost this battle when he looked into those big, brown, innocent eyes. He didn't want to go somewhere. He seriously wasn't in a mood for leaving his empty, yet comforting house. He just couldn't say 'no' to her.


	5. Bunch of Roses

Title: Birthday Gift  
>Fandom: Grimm (TV)<br>Genre: comedy/fluffy  
>Length: ~500<br>Summary: Monroe goes with Holly. People on the street are acting weird.

* * *

><p>Holly was very impatient. Monroe almost didn't lock the door when the girl pulled his arm.<p>

"Where are we going?" asked Monroe out of curiosity, however the question came out more alarmed than he wanted. During this birthday, his sanity left him for good. Earlier he took that unsigned small package from his porch, and now this? Normal and sane person wouldn't let a stranger to get him out of the house. Ok, Holly was not exactly a stranger, he saved her life some time ago, but that's all. And so, Monroe silently granted himself a new title – 'moron'. The social advancement thing – from 'antisocial' to 'moron'. Hurray.

"Come!" Holly hurried him. When they went around the corner, Monroe suddenly stopped. Just in front of him stood no one else than Rody. The same little Roddy the Reiningen Monroe had 'the talk' with. The boy handed him few red roses, and smiled. Holly smiled back at Roddy. Apparently they knew each other. The older man didn't know what was happening. First Holly, now Roddy. 'What next?' he wondered.

"Don't let them wait" said Roddy with a smile. Monroe wanted to ask about those mysterious 'them' the young Reiningen mentioned, but Holly pulled his arm again.

Monroe had a big bouquet of roses, and he scarcely left his home. Each person he and Holly passed by on the street – be it young or older - presented Monroe a rose. He spotted in a distance two teenagers. He didn't know them in person, but their scent was familiar. It was the same scent he smelled on Nick, when the detective was telling stories about a siblings living on the street. What were their names? Hansel and Gretel? Oh, Hanson and Gracie. Now Monroe remembered. Nick couldn't stop talking about those poor teens, so it's understandable that Monroe knew their names. All in all, a good memory was a strong point of his.

"Here" Gracie smiled as she handed him the rose. Hanson on the other hand looked embarrassed. After this short interaction, siblings smiled and run past them.

He and Holly passed few people he didn't know. From each person Monroe received a red rose. He didn't know where the girl was leading him, but he realized that they went around the neighborhood in circle. Holly was guiding Monroe to his own house. When they went closer to the entrance, Monroe had the impression that he missed something. Between weird gifts, unexpected visit from Holly, and strangers giving him flowers he didn't have time to think about the little things. So he let Holly lead him.

Up till this point, it was one of the strangest days in Monroe's life. However his birthday was not over yet. Anything can happen.


	6. Happy Birthday

Title: Birthday Gift  
>Fandom: Grimm (TV)<br>Genre: comedy  
>Length: ~600<br>Summary: Everything's well that ends well. It took one pesky Grimm to change Monroe's view on birthday.

* * *

><p>When he was near the house, he realized that the house is open. The first thing he felt was a panic – how could he go out and not close the door? What if someone saw the moment when Holly dragged him out? What if the said someone waited till they disappear around the corner and went to rob Monroe's? Rob his collection of antique clocks, prewar train sets or his heirlooms? Everything he loved could be gone by now.<p>

Monroe tried to think more positively. It did not quiet look like a burglar's work. It must have been something different. Something Monroe could not get a grasp of. But what? He tried to remember everything that happened during this day till this moment. He swallowed hard. It finally clicked. A birthday party. At the very thought of the party he became pale.

Just as he suspected, he could distinguished few different scents coming from the inside of his house. One, three... five or maybe even more. What a nightmare. One year ago Monroe could happily plunge into solitude and his clocks. He could also expect some members of his family. 'Shit!' he swore in his mind. He just realized that someone from his family COULD appear uninvited. What a drama.

Last time, when his family decided to visit Monroe, he had to apologize to every neighbor. They were so loud and savage. He did not want to remember it. And he apparently did not want to remember just one thing – Fluffy, a neighbor's cat. While his family had the time of their life here in Portland, a favorite Persian Cat of the lady next door disappeared. Monroe tried to find the cat, even thou he did not like the flea-bag. However, Fluffy was missing and no one knew what happened. Few days after Monroe's family left Portland, he cleaned the guest room. Under the bed he found a blue collar with a name 'Fluffy' written on. What a shame. If the old lady next door knew. Thank God she bought a new pet.

Fortunately, he could not sniff anyone from his family. He relaxed a little. Monroe glanced at Holly, but she nagged him to quickly open the door. When he grabbed the doorknob, doors opened slowly. The neighborhood became silent. Everything was quiet, except for Holly.

"Come on!" she said impatiently, pushing Monroe inside his own house.

There they were. In the living room Monroe spotted a group of people. To be more specific, he found there following people: Nick , Juliette, Charlotte, Hanson and Gracie and Roddy. When they saw Monroe standing there, Roddy started playing a birthday tune on his violin. The rest of the guests started singing.

Monroe did not know what to do. He was utterly lost and confused. Why someone, probably Nick, went through all the trouble of throwing a birthday party for Monroe?

"I... I..." he did not know what to say. Fortunately for him, he did not have to say anything. Nick Burkhardt came up to him.

"Happy birthday, my friend." Nick smiled genuinely handing Monroe a little black box. The birthday boy took it.

"Open it when you'll be alone" advised detective Burkhardt, then he hugged Monroe.

Monroe was at a loss for words. He thought that being alone was good for him. However those people standing in his living room, singing 'happy birthday', proved that Monroe was wrong about it. And maybe he missed Hap, Ralph and Angelina's company a little bit, but it was not important right now. There was a group of people in his house willing to spend their evening in Monroe's company. He smiled like he did not in years.

"Thanks" he said holding back tears.


End file.
